Adult literacy volunteer John Pinnix & Yahya Hamdouni, are more than just tutor & student — they’re friends. Yaya recently invited John to attend his U.S. citizenship ceremony and John presented him with a U.S. flag for his home.

The moment marked a huge accomplishment for Yahya and the completion of his goal when he entered the literacy program almost 2 years ago: learn English well enough to apply for US citizenship & pass the test. And HE DID!!

Trained as a textile engineer in the Middle East, Yahya can also speak Russian & Arabic. He and his wife have been working in the US for about 7 years and John’s helped Yahya’s wife get her paperwork started for U.S. Citizenship too.

John said it’s been a joy to have a small part in Yahya’s journey. A retired 3rd generation pharmacist, John said he strongly believes in the importance of education and has tutored local public school students in the past.

“I’m so proud of his efforts,” he said. “He learned the details of US history as well as improving his conversational English and reading and writing skills. It was a great experience for sure. Tutoring is fun and rewarding.”